The 'Monsters' Among Us: Child Sex Abusers in Our Midst

The 'Monsters' Among Us: Child Sex Abusers in Our Midst

How fellow Christians should respond.

A Christianity Today Editorial/ April 20, 2012

Updated and revised May 31, 2012

He loved children.

The man and his wife had parented 75 foster kids in their suburban home encircled by a white picket fence. He worked in marketing for three Chicago ministries, going on to establish a support network for foster-care families.

"Long before we got married ... we agreed we wanted to have large families," the man told a Christian publisher in 2009. "We thought it would be fun to have a lot of children."

And then, the man was arrested in February on charges of sexually assaulting two of his foster children, one 6, the other 12 at the time. Journalists present at a court hearing report that a prosecutor said that this individual confessed verbally to police of nights spent drinking before coming home to engage in sexual contact with these two children, now young adults.

We at Christianity Today recognized the mug shot. For nine years, he was our coworker in a non-editorial role.

The story came to us right before another: a Wheaton College Christian education professor arrested for possessing with the intent to disseminate pornographic images of chidlren under 13, a very serious felony.

And now today comes another tragedy, with the news that Voice of the Martyrs executive director Tom White, a source, partner, and friend to several of us here, apparently committed suicide to avoid an investigation into an accusation that he had molested a young girl.

These events brought a sickening dose of reality to our hallways. These stories don't signal a trend, and the cases are unrelated. The accused foster parent and former professor separately appeared in their respective courts and pleaded not guilty to all charges. The defense attorney for the foster parent has said there is no signed confession. ...

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